I have only one album from this rather obscure artist whom I enjoy very much....it has been very difficult to track down samples of the artists work...in particular his album "Upon The Elysium Fields" was amazing and I have been trying to track down his other work and decided to order something on a whim that ended up being very dark doom metal....not what I expected and was very dissapointed....on the other hand the artist has recently logged into his Myspace page and updated with some new music...his song "Hidden Path" is an excellent example of his album "Upon The Elysium Field".....and one more thing some of his music contains absolutley awful vocals as does some of his ambient....I mean absolutley awful vocals....but then some of his work contains absolutley angelic vocals go figure...if you visit his Myspace page you can listen to samples of awful vocals...and this guy seems to have an obsession with Lord Of The Rings and Dungeons and Dragon.....On a seperate note does anyone else have reccomendations that is similiar to this style of ambient? Some artist that I find very similiar....ShrineTho-So-AaCyclic Law: CatalogMalignant: CatalogLustmordLingua FungiAlio DieOpiumAsmorodIrezumi

Been a while since I posted last...which only means a lot of music to mention.....

Alec Cheer & Alistair Crosbie - No Monsters - Lefthand Pressings - CD-R(Many have heard me run my mouth off on the work of Alistair Crosbie....like the last album from 2008 this one in my humble opinion seems to be much cleaner and less distorted. Similarities can be found with the more ambient pieces of Tim Hecker and the more subdued Aidan Baker....Highly recommended)

Alistair Crosbie - The Last Day Of Summer - Lefthand Pressings - 3" CD-R(File this one under the work of Hammock and Robin Guthrie...perhaps what I like so much about Mr. Crosbie is his ability to create music in so many different genres...very nice floating guitar melodies)

Brian Lavelle - Avalonian -Apollolaan - CD-R(Severely limited release that tracks down Brain at his most ambient...many may know this artist for his dark ambient or drone experiments...this on the other hand is downright beautiful and seems to focus more on the ambient textures with guitars thrown in for good measure)

Eyeballs – Invisible Castle – Blackest Rainbow – CD(Nice drone atmospheres with a much lighter quality….the artist has done a bit of a 180…in the past one was accustomed to murky drones…now we have a brand new artist altogether and one to keep your eyes on…look for the reprint of this Dead Pilot CD-R as this is when stuff begins to get really interesting)

Cory Allen – Hearing Is Forgetting The Names Of The Things One Hears – Quiet Design (Rather contained work that seems to focus more on the loops…I liked the last album more…this one sounds much to clean…and to be honest I have not been able to listen to the entire album….as one gets bored around the third song and looses interest….)

Stroma – S/T – Razors And Medicine – Cassette(Brilliant ambient drones….if you happened to enjoy the works of Marble Sky…please track it down…perhaps this would have gained more attention if it was available of CD…but brilliant music none the less)

Atheus – Soundscapes And Drones – Ghost Sounds – CD(Deep dubbed ambient atmospheres…very similar to darker GAS material. Yes it’s been done before…but then again so has the new album from Markus Guentner…recycled music that doesn’t break any new territory but it’s still not short of being brilliant. I would recommend this but I have noticed that after a few listens it gets a tad monotonous)

Jaxson Payne – Hopen – KOEPT – CD-R(Perfect ambient for the winter holidays….really seems to fit the seasons as it has a bunch of choral atmospheres that are not cheesy…this took me by surprise and has definitely won me over in the last week….the most played album for the month of December in my books)

Absolutley....I have the vinyl on deepchord recordings as well which is just a lovely when you get those warm pops added in...funny how imperfections can enhance music sometimes....can't say that for CD or Digital downloads....but vinyl hiss and cracks add depth and dimension to the music....

Hope you like the releases...if you enjoy the mystery sea catalog...this is pretty much the same stuff but released on 3"...keep your eyes on this label during 2010 as I have a feeling they might do the box thing again...or at least I hope they do it again. I think Celer has plans to drop a 3" later in 2010 as do a variety of favorite drone artists.

Ok, pardon me for going a bit nuts on this most but I am incredible happy for what I just scored in a local record store sales bin....perhaps I am lucky or I live in a city where people express no interest in ambient, experimental, etc. I will list the prices as I already had 14 of the 16 releases I bought but I could not let this music sit in a dilapidated dusty and dirty shelf.....

( I will also mention that at this same shop about five years ago I found a copy of the Thomas Koner - "Unerforschtes Gebeit" for the sum of $10 and they have helped me complete my Alio Die collection, William Basinski Collection, Andrew Chalk Collection, etc Although in the last year the selection of music has been decimated they used to have about three book cases rammed with experimental, ambient, and a whold bunch of strange music from all over the world....they used to carry a lot of music that was available from the Anomalous distribution service....pity that now the music selection fits on 1/2 of one bookcase....very sad indeed very sad)

Sorry for posting about this so late...I know many of you enjoy the sounds of Chihei Hatakeyama and company....anyhow this label out of France "Taalem" just released 4x3" cdr's that include exclusive material from these four artists:

For a limited time the label was offering a box with additional material from each artists which ended being 5X3" CDR's...however blink and you missed it availability....for those who know nothing about this label do not hesitate picking up Yui Onodera's "Le Jardin" or Opium's "Etere"....both being wonderful ambient atmospheres....and for those that enjoy the heavy enviromental water drones check out the release from Mathias Deplanque "ma chambre quand je n'y suis pas (paris)" and Michael Northam "memory of A". I also happen to enjoy the work from Tzesne, Spiracle (very similiar to repress available on Helen Scarsdale) on the label as well....give it shot if you tend to like the artists I just mentioned.

Drape - Dream Words - Gears Of Sand - CD-R(Elegance and subtlety are the themes of this new drone act out of Seattle...reminds me a lot of Jeremy Bible And Jason Henry 2008 release "Vryashn"....perhaps this style of "ambient" music has grown old this year...but this I think straddles that line of deep, dark, ominous, and environmental sound worlds quite well....yes the drones are there...but the focus seems somewhere else...perhaps it's all about the atmosphere)

Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker - Fantasma Parastasie - Alien8 Recordings - CD(During the fall of last year this was one of the most highly anticipated releases.....I think I may of listened to it a total of two times before I completely forgot about the release....now a year later I find that what I could not stand about this release was the "66" interruptions...in total we have about 7 tracks but for some stupid reason it's broken up into 66 little pieces? The music I found to be quite honest and both artists contributions can be heard throughout...but the "66" little pieces make it a very difficult listen)

V/A - Fugues: Unreleased Tracks 2009 - Debruit & Desilence - CD-R(A collection of artists contributing an assortment of tracks I found peculiar...this comp has more surprises than anything else....I don't know if the tracks released on this comp were random tid-bits that never made it onto albums of sorts....but the label did a fantastic job with the track order...if anything the track order was very intelligently picked and adds to the overall atmosphere of the comp...If you find yourself to be a fan of any of the artists featured on the comp...don't waste time in picking it up)

Emmalee Crane - Crux - The Streetlight Farm - CD(Stars of The Lid and Eluvium comparisons are dime a dozen at the present moment...but if any artist or trio deserves it this year....this is it! In the last few years I have found five albums that blow me away on each listen:

Quantec - Journey Of Mind - Silent Season - CD-R(Absolutley essential but stupidly limited to 100 copies...basically it was available for 1 day then sold out. Should be a repress coming along in a month or two so make sure you get on it...this is ambient and simply that ambient....very icy and cold but warm and dubby in some parts by far his best work)

Daughter Of The Industrial Revolution - Variable Resistance Parts 001-003 - Cotton Goods - 3 CD's(Let me make the same point once more fantastic packaging and stupidly limited 175 and it was stated that it will never be reissued again...apparently this label makes it a perequisite to never make the music available again after one pressing. Same situation blink and it's gone within a day...why do this why?)

Mark McGuire - vdsq: Solo Acoustic Volume Two - Vin Du Select Qualitite - 2x12"(Awesome guitar dressed up in popul vuh and seveties echoplexed guitar drift....totaly awesome and highly reccomended if Emeralds and Oneohtrix Point Never is your thing....mighty mighty music coming out of this trio...)

The Clyde Parker Project - Session #1 - Monolyth Cobalt - 2CD-R)(My cup of tea...I truly enjoy the sounds of enviroments mixed in with tones and drones....23 remixes or artist taking enviromental sounds provided by the label and then creating music with that in mind. So far I am impressed and have been introduced to variety of unheard artists: Jednota, Tomaso Azara, Julien Beau, and Kim Kvello) That's it for now....

Decided to ressurect this thread because I have come across some incredible artists as of late:

"LJ Kruzer" : http://www.unchartedaudio.com/releases/I've spent a few months investigating this artists work and found many of his albums to have that early Merck records, N5md, and Neo Ouija vibe. So if you happened to like that beat driven laidback electronica from 5-6 years ago give this stuff a shot....actaully I found this work to be very beautiful and a good change from all that drone murkiness...and you also get those short beautiful ambient interludes....oh and one more thing the artist offers a free download and you can stream the entire album at the website.....ready set go and discover this wonderful artist! Check out "Manhood and Electronics" and "Tam Variations"!

Panoptique Electrical - Yes To Fear, Yes To Desire - Sensory Projects(More classical in nature but if Max Richter and Johan Johansson are to your liking I believe this should be in your collection)

"Maju" - I have already commented on this artist and his work on currently listening page....the only thing I have to add is that volume 2 is their weakest but most enjoyable album...I know that makes no sense but that's how I feel about Volume II.....

Asher - Miniatures - Sourdine - 2xCD(Ashy piano loops...you know done in that William Basinski and Caretaker hauntology scheme of things. Actually I found the release to be quite adorable and my girlfriend actually complimented on the atmosphere...mentioning something romantic about it? Perhaps but I find it to be more solemn and dusty...)

Philip Jeck - Vinyl Coda I-III - Intermedium Records - 2xCD(Since I played the Asher I had this feeling that I needed to play some Basinski or Celer's "Capri"...but instead I made an effort to search for this long lost classic...anybody remember Jeck's early work? I found this work to be "original" in the sense that the man composes music through turntables and effects...yet his work sounds entirely his own...by all means if you find yourself a fan of The Caretaker or William Basinski...do yourself a favor and buy this...it will be expensive but a worthwhile investment...in my humble opinion it has not aged a bit and sounds fresh as ever)

Ian Hawgood*Le Mepris*Ryu Furusawa - Mobeer - 3"xCDR(Nice little ambient and electronic pieces...I found the Hawgood tracks to be particulalrly good in spite of all the releases and similarites I have found in each. The packaging is fabulous and you get a free beer mat....unique stuff but then again it's a label related to Moteer, Lacies, and the extrodinary Cotton Goods)

Maju - Volume 3 - Extreme - CD(To those who like ambient with texture and abrupt little glitches...I always found this artist to be very underated. Imagine Tetsu Inoue releasing something for Touch...I would have to say that Ben Frost and Lawrence English sound like this artist..not the other way around...do yourself a favor and buy all five albums while they are available)

BJ Nilsen & Stillupsteypa - Passing Out - Helen Scarsdale Agency - CD(Somewhere along the lines of Andrew Chalk, Lustmord, and Cluster. At times you can hear a little bit of musique concrete...all in all the best one yet from this duo and the final disc in the trilogy released on Helen Scarsdale. One long track at 67 minutes with about 7 different movements but the fifth movement last for about 40 minutes of improvised "Organum" drone terror...reccomended for those who like meek music....)

Pub - Making Trakck.9 - Talent Hoover - 3" CD-R(I enjoyed about six out of ten of these little discs...majorly expensive about 16 bucks a pop....no reason to be so expensive as some of these discs have only 15 min of music. This one has to be my favorite of the bunch and the series was limited to only 100 apiece of eash disc...overall I have to admit I was dissapointed....the Adam Pacione series has really been a great investment....on the other hand some of these discs are fetching somewhere around 30-35 euros)

Sublamp - Breathletters - Dragon's Eye - CD-R(Not bad....kind of seems a little late in the game....sort of Tim Heckerish, Lawrence English, Fennesz....etc. Won't amaze you but it's nice to have a different approach to music that has been pretty much assualted this year in the last...typical drone fuzziness)

Cool thanks for the compliments.....I always try to add a little to my listening experiences. As for Velvet Cacoon...it appears they will always be shrouded in mystery. But then again part of me doesn't take one ounce of it seriously....

Fern

After your post I did a bit more reading about Velvet Cacoon online, and the more I read, the more I felt he was just having a bit of fun at everyone's expense. If you read a few interviews, and cross-reference them, it's impossible to believe anything he says because so much is contradictory.

One of my favorite comments is the one in regards to his dead ex-band mate.....and how easily he states that "he was miserable really so it's actually ok that he is dead".....what the hell? Why would anyone say such a thing? To be honest these comments make them all the more interesting.....

Noveller - Red Rainbows - No Fun - CD(Brilliant drone pieces from this female artist....yes we need more female artist in this rather "sausage fest" scene....if you liked the work of Darwins Bitch....no reason you shouldn't dig this one...kind of harsh at moments but overall a drone workout with some identity)

The Notwist - Sturm - Alien Transistor - 12"+Bonus CD(Heard the samples was amazed picked it up and I am even more amazed once I had the chance to really sit down and listen. Expensive release but I got my order in early for the photo book and CD.....after a hundred you only get the 12"...so it's a bit pricy for just the 12"...but the music is rather marvelous and you can also download it via boomkat for a quick fix. It's a rather solemn release....)

evan caminiti - digging the void(spaghetti guitar drones from one 1/2 of Barn Owl - waiting for the 2 full albums on Digitalis to arrive..)

I got my order in for the Camaniti but was a little hesitant with the elm album.....seemed a little noisy for my taste when you do get it in would you mind describing the album. The last Elm album on Blackest Rainbow was fluffy and mystical sort of like the more ambient side of "Lamp of the Universe"....but was very excited when I received my Students of Decay order for the other Camaniti disc.....which to be honest along with the two Celer discs I have been so inundated with new material that I have yet to listen to any of them....buying all this music is a damm curse...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Velvet Cacoon - Atropine - Full Moon Productions - CDX2(A whole lot of mystery surrounds this clandestine group who supposedly are members of the ELF front (an eco-terrosirt organization). Anyhow they usually create Black metal (ghastly stuff in my opinion) but this is straight up black immersive drones of the highest quality. Really did not expect this type of music out of this outfit but words say that they made this music under the influence of heavy duty tranquilizers...which then brings into question much of the drone music...utterly bleak music but a gemm! Very nice dark ambient....by far the darkest album of the year and one of my favorites thus far in the year. I know some of you live in Portland...what's the mystery with this group...are they a complete hoax or do they have some underground cult dedicated to A-sexuality and elusive narcotics?)

Ferngerms, despite Velvet Cacoon being based in Portland, I'd say their presence and reputation here is fairly close to non-existent. I had never even heard the name before, though I admit I don't read the local music papers (Mercury and Willamette Week) as closely as I used to. Though Portland likes to consider itself artsy and weird, nobody here seems to know about any of the local artists or labels who enjoy niche success in the wider world. As far as live music goes, people seem to enjoy sticking with their indie rock, maybe a little hip-hop or folk.

Cool thanks for the compliments.....I always try to add a little to my listening experiences. As for Velvet Cacoon...it appears they will always be shrouded in mystery. But then again part of me doesn't take one ounce of it seriously....

The Caretaker - Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia - V/Vm Test Records - CDX6(A huge set of 72 ballroom memories...more of a collectors piece but decently priced. Full on reverb with crackles here and there...not essential and perhaps not even a neccesary purchase but I am a fan and it makes for fantastic night time music)

Velvet Cacoon - Atropine - Full Moon Productions - CDX2(A whole lot of mystery surrounds this clandestine group who supposedly are members of the ELF front (an eco-terrosirt organization). Anyhow they usually create Black metal (ghastly stuff in my opinion) but this is straight up black immersive drones of the highest quality. Really did not expect this type of music out of this outfit but words say that they made this music under the influence of heavy duty tranquilizers...which then brings into question much of the drone music...utterly bleak music but a gemm! Very nice dark ambient....by far the darkest album of the year and one of my favorites thus far in the year. I know some of you live in Portland...what's the mystery with this group...are they a complete hoax or do they have some underground cult dedicated to A-sexuality and elusive narcotics?)

Saul Stokes - Metacollage - Self Released - CD-R(Quite nice and more ambient than his other last two releases....Vast, Villa Galaxia, and Radiate wore off quite quick. But this one has some magic and I think i'll be coming back to this one a few more times....)

Aidan Baker - The Taste Of Summer On Your Skin - Taalem - 3" CD-R(Few years old just decided to spin it and give it go...suprisingly Aidan Baker has not released much material this year. I've noticed two comps in the last year that have focused on obscure releases and a Nadja compendium. Really the only release with fresh material is the new one on Install "Dry".....can't wait to get around to it and he'll be stopping by in Los Angeles in October can't wait for that that show as Pedestrian Deposit, Nadja, Infinite Body, and someone else.....then a few days later Steve Roach in Pomona...Damm many shows to attend in the month of October)

Machinefabriek - Tapes Of The Day - Machinefabriek (White) - CD-R(Feild recordings of Israel that he used for a live performance. Sort of like a audio journal...instead of writing your memories you record them...I actually did the same thing a few months ago when I visited the south east portion of the United States...when you capture the enviroments at specefic moments your memories are that more vivid)

Final - 3 - Neurot Recs - CD(I've always felt that Final was always beyond the other experimental musicians and ambient guitar distorters. Fennesz, Lawrence English, Ben Frost, Aidan Baker are great but it seemed to me that Justin Broaderick was doing the same thing 5 years before and received as absolutley no credit...it seems that Fennesz gets all the credit for "Hotel Paral.el" and "Endless Summer"...but really Final and Rafael Toral were doing it way before and an excellent job as well listen to "1" and "Solaris"or Toral's "Wave Field" and "Sound Mind Sound Body")

On Now:Nicholas Szcepanik - The Chiasmus - Basses Frequences/SRA - CD(More of the same drone poems ala Andrew Chalk and PAul Bradley....quality but nothing that exciting)